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The M72 LAW (''Light Anti-Tank Weapon'', also referred to as the ''Light Anti-Armor Weapon'' or ''LAW'' as well as ''LAWS'' Light Anti-Armor Weapons System) is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon. The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed in the newly formed Rohm and Haas research laboratory at Redstone Arsenal in 1959,〔E. T. DeRieux ''et al'' "Final Report – Development of LAW Propulsion Unit," R&H RARD, Technical Report No. S-12, December 1959〕 then the full system was designed by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, Frank A. Spinale, ''et al''. at the Hesse-Eastern Division of Norris Thermadore. American production of the weapon began by Hesse-Eastern in 1963, and was terminated by 1983; currently it is produced by Nammo Raufoss AS in Norway and their subsidiary Nammo Talley, Inc. in Arizona.〔("M72 products" ). Nammo Talley, Inc. Retrieved September 25, 2014.〕 In early 1963, the M72 LAW was adopted by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps as their primary individual infantry anti-tank weapon, replacing the M31 HEAT rifle grenade and the M20A1 "Super Bazooka" in the U.S. Army. It was subsequently adopted by the U.S. Air Force to serve in an anti-emplacement/anti-armor role in Air Base Defense duties.〔Mary T. Cagle "History of the TOW Missile System" page 10, U.S. Army 1977 (Redstone Arsenal Pdf file of official TOW history ) that discussed the new family of antitank weapons, the M72 LAW, the Dragon and the TOW〕〔The U.S. Army partially replaced the Super Bazooka not only with the M72 LAW, but also M67 recoilless rifle and U.S. Marines kept the Super Bazooka in service till the late 1960s〕 It had been intended in the early 1980s that the M72 would be replaced by the FGR-17 Viper. However, this program was canceled by Congress and the M136 AT4 was introduced instead. At that time, its nearest equivalents were the Swedish Pskott m/68 (Miniman) and the French SARPAC.〔SARPAC was never adopted by the French Army – export only〕 ==History== The increased importance of tanks and other armored vehicles in World War II caused a need for portable infantry weapons to deal with them. The first to be used (with limited success) were Molotov cocktails, flamethrowers, satchel charges, jury-rigged landmines, and specially designed magnetic hollow charges. All of these had to be used within a few meters of the target, which was difficult and dangerous. The U.S. Army introduced the bazooka, the first rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Despite early problems, it was a success and was copied by other countries. However, the bazooka had its drawbacks. Large and easily damaged, it required a well trained two-man crew. Germany developed a one man alternative, the Panzerfaust. The one-shot launchers were cheap and required no special training. As a result, they were regularly issued to Volkssturm home guard regiments. They were very efficient against tanks during the last days World War II. However, the Panzerfaust was not a rocket launcher but instead a recoilless rifle. The M72 LAW is a combination of the two World War II weapons. The basic principle is a miniaturized bazooka, while its light weight and cheapness is similar to the Panzerfaust. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「M72 LAW」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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